A top Russian politico named Chagarin is about to have his one-time partner, now enemy, sentenced to prison for life. However, Komarov still has something he wants, but since he refuses to give it up, Chagarin’s people arrange to have arrested American Jack McClane (Jai Cortney) to falsely testify against Komarov.

John McClane (Bruce Willis), upon hearing his son is in trouble, flies to Moscow for the trial, just as a well armed team tries to breakout Komarov. Blowing up half the courthouse and killing all the soldiers though doesn’t get them Komarov, as Jack, secretly a CIA agent, had an escape plan all his own.

The mercenaries give chase to Jack and Komarov, while John McClane enters the fray by joining his son on his latest mission to save Komarov, bring down a mad man who would deal with terrorists and upturn plans that can threaten the world with nuclear devastation. All in a day’s work for a man who once again finds himself, “… in the wrong place, at the wrong time.”

Objectionable Issues

Violence: Extreme. Besides a few close-ups of bullets to the head, many are shot, blown up, crushed under armored vehicles and cars, stabbed, and one is minced by helicopter blades. The violence is often so gratuitous that the chief mercenary, Alik, burst out laughing, which gave me the impression he was just reflecting the director’s obscene glee at the scene. Not a family movie by any means. This and the next topic more than earn this “Die Hard” its “R” rating.

Language: Extreme. Cursing is rampant throughout, with about two dozen “S” words, 16 “F” words, two “A” word insults, one “B” word and 18 taking of the Lord’s name in vain. “Damn you…” was used sparingly and always by Jack directed towards his father. The middle finger was used twice to equally profane effect. A Russian cabbie misunderstands a comment of John’s and asks him if he wants to go to a “sex club”.

Sex/Nudity: Mild. Very early in the picture, in a nightclub, many women are dressed seductively, one motorcycles in wearing leather and begins to change, however the scene ends, and the same woman is soon being embraced by a man, but they go no further.

Lessons

Before the trial, Chagarin visits his former friend, and Komarov tells him, “I’m prepared to pay for my sins, are you prepared to pay for yours?”

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;, and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Filmgoers drawn to the “Die Hard” franchise have enjoyed over-the-top action scenes accented by Bruce Willis’s trademark wisecracks, but this movie introduces a new dynamic—that of a father and his son.

Komarov admits that he wasn’t there much as a father for his daughter, and, in a moment, of frankness John admits to likewise working too much and wishing he had spent more time with Jack.

Spending most of his life on the police force has taken its toll on John’s relationship with his son, and it shows in how Jack bristles with resentment and repeatedly calls his father by his first name. We do all well to remember the Word of God when it says,

Likewise, John had a responsibility not to foster an environment that would end up pushing his son away. The Word also speaks to this:

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Bruce Willis has now been playing this character for 25 years and seems often detached and less involved in the role. This may be partially attributed to the necessary sharing of screen time with his “son,” but it is still a weak point, as was the direction overall. An over focus on action for action’s sake without regard to back story or character motivations also hampered the film’s narrative.

As the fifth entry in the Die Hard series “A Good Day to Die Hard” is, I believe, the weakest. A solid action movie in it’s own right, one can’t help but compare it to its predecessors. Whereas the other four films all had villains whose plans were executed with a surgical precision that only a wild card like John McClane could thwart, the Russians here are mere extensions of their vehicles (tanks, copters) relying on pure blunt force. A strong rated “R”, I hesitantly recommend this only to die-hard fans, like myself, who have a steadfast heart and can go in with lower expectations.

Positive—I saw “A Good Day To De Hard”… Having viewed the first four films in the franchise and being let down by “Die Hard 2” and the last entry, I was ambivalent about the latest installment, until the teaser poster and first two trailers were released, which made me hope that the series would be going back to its R-rated roots. Sure enough, I was right. The latest entry in the Die Hard series is reminiscent of the first three films in terms of content, only that the violence is more graphic, and the language is tempered down a bit. However, never fear. John McClane’s signature phrase is uncensored this time around (unlike the fourth film, where it was inexplicably toned down for a PG-13 rating, though there was still some moderate-to-strong profanity that should have earned it an R-rating).

The plot of the fifth film isn’t as strong as “Die Hard” and “Die Hard With A Vengeance,” but it’s definitely much better than “Die Hard 2” and “Live Free or Die Hard,” and the actor playing the main villain may not be as well-known as Alan Rickman or Jeremy Irons, but he still did a good job. more »

Shame that the great Michael Kamen (who scored the first three movies, plus all of the “Lethal Weapon” films, “License To Kill,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and Disney’s “The Three Musketeers”) is no longer with us to provide another great score for another “Die Hard” movie.

My only quibble is with the profaning of God’s Name (i.e., combining the Name of God with a mild profanity, thereby turning it into a strong religious profanity; God saith, “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord Thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain.”).

Other than that, I totally enjoyed the movie. Yippee-ki-yay. My ranking of the “Die Hard” movies is as follows. I. “Die Hard II.” “Die Hard With A Vengeance” III. “A Good Day To Die Hard” IV. “Die Hard 2” V. “Live Free Or Die Hard.”

Positive—“A Good Day to Die Hard” is one of the cleanest R-rated actioners in recent years. It may not be as good as its predecessors (thanks to a convoluted plot, lack of tension, poor character development, and massive logic problems in the story), but it manages to succeed in providing a fast-paced hour and a half of mindless, over the top (highly unrealistic) action for action movie enthusiasts like myself.

Content-wise, like I said, this is one of the cleanest R-rated action movies in a while. With the exception of one bloody headshot near the end of the film and the main antagonist’s bloody (but obviously CGI and blurry-looking) death, the level of violence here is what you’d expect from a PG-13 rating, not a hard-edged R-rating. I do believe the reviewer blew the level of violence in this film way out of proportion, making it sound like your typical “blood everywhere” R-rated action movie. more »

The only reason for the R-rating here is the language, but even that doesn’t go over-the-top in my opinion. Most of today’s foul-mouthed movies are jam-packed with f-bombs (hundreds of them and senselessly used). I counted and “A Good Day to Die Hard” clocks in at a mere 16 uses of the f-bomb (none of them used in a sexual context, thankfully) and a moderate assortment of other milder cusses.

There is no sexual content or nudity to speak off, with the exception of one joke where a cabbie offers to take our main character to a sex cub (no graphic descriptions or anything).

As I mentioned before, this movie isn’t exactly high quality entertainment. The plot makes little sense (I still can’t fully decipher what the villains want, even after my fourth viewing), the dialog is corny, the drama feels somewhat forced, the villains are forgettable, and the action is almost completely tensionless thanks to the two seemingly indestructible heroes who take inhuman amounts of punishment and walk away with the occasional cut or bruise only.

However, “A Good Day to Die Hard” provides enough mindless, over the top action to keep you entertained throughout its short running time. If you go into this movie expecting just that, you won’t be disappointed (seriously, the first action scene alone goes on for like 15 minutes). If you want something as high quality as the original “Die Hard,” you better lower your expectations. Either way, one thing remains true: the people behind the film refrained from packing it full of overly graphic violence, insane amounts of adult language, and degrading sexual content. That, in my eyes, is honorable in today’s action movie world.

Negative—Having seen this film on its opening night in the UK, I was astounded how it managed to be given a 12a rating. To clarify—a 12a which allows children of any age to come and watch, as long as an adult is present. So I could’ve taken my 11 year old daughter. Wow! After about the 6th or 7th f-word (yes that’s the f-word!) and a mother-f___ to go with it, I was so pleased my kids weren’t there. A few violent killings and a man cut up on helicopter blades added to the confusion. In 1988, the original Die Hard was given a 18 rating. 25 years later and it’s a 12a. Have our standards dropped so low? I need ratings to help me judge whether I take my children. Why? They mean nothing now. It’s sites like this that guide us now. The film is OKAY, but don’t take the kids!My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3—Phil, age 40 (United Kingdom)

Comments from young people

Negative—This movie was like getting a slap in the face. I have seen most of the prequel Die Hard films. All of them are better than this. I hated it. Just rewatch DHWAV and DH2My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½—Ty, age 14 (USA)

Comments from non-viewers

Positive—Other than using the Lord’s name in vain and a few sexual hints, the Die Hard movies are pretty entertaining; pray for the good old (but NEVER out-dated) Hays Code to come back. The violence in these movies is a “Light vs. Dark” context, not “violence for the sport of it” and the villains are never supposed to be cheered for, and always receive justice. I intend to see this movie very soon. From what I can tell, John tries to reconcile with his son. As long as there is life, it is never too late to make the right decisions. Christ demonstrated this truth to the thief on the cross.—Peter, age 22 (USA)